“We find ourselves ethically destitute just when, for the first
time, we are faced with ultimacy, the irreversible closing down of the earth's
functioning in its major life systems. Our ethical traditions know how to deal
with suicide, homicide and even genocide, but these traditions collapse
entirely when confronted with biocide, the killing of the life systems of the
earth, and geocide, the devastation of the earth itself.”
— Father Thomas Berry
Why
must we label the threat we pose to the planet? Do the terms “climate change”
and “global warming” even accurately define the environmental problems we face?
All these media-generated phrases do, like “fiscal cliff” and “sequester,” is
make a topic easily parsed by TV talking heads.
Warnings
of sea-level rise or the need for environmental protections — you know, those
job-killing regulations — don’t resonate with the self-centered who believe
their money and/or guns will shield them from more intense and more frequent
storms.
Many,
especially those with wealth, power or both, argue against common sense and the
future of this wildly — but quickly becoming less so — diverse sphere because
the swamp green color of money always trumps the actual importance of swamps.
We
know that if you sit in a closed garage with the engine running, you will die
from carbon monoxide poisoning. Yet, many dismiss the nastiness we’ve been
spewing into the atmosphere, dumping into our waters and feeding to our land
since the start of the Industrial Revolution two-plus centuries ago as the cost
of doing business. They assume the planet has no breaking point; that it’s
resources are limitless.
If
not, they’ll be invited to Newt Gingrich’s moon colony to exploit its resources
for personal gain.
Our
choices come with a cost, but we seldom take the long view. We’re blinded by
greed, numbed by narcism and addicted to the quick fix. If we were stranded in
a desert with hundreds of miles to go and someone handed us a canteen filled
with water, we would gulp it down all at once. We love kicking the can down a
future generation’s throat.
We’re
continuously duped by the self-serving powerful — the gods that call themselves
“job creators” and answer to no one but their share holders. To them, the
environment is just another sector to rape and pillage.
And,
as the recent edition of Mother Jones reported, several big “environmental”
groups get much of their millions from the likes of ExxonMobil, the American
Petroleum Institute and the Malaysian Palm Oil Board — all of whom represent
environmentally destructive industries.
The
hypocrisy doesn’t end there.
If
there are too many deer in a certain habitat, we cull the herd to control the
population. We shoot seagulls at the Central Landfill because they are
considered a nuisance and a danger.
Meanwhile,
the world’s human population stands at about 7 billion, and grows by about 80
million annually — the equivalent of adding a new Egypt every year. We address
this issue by celebrating an Arkansas family with 17 children. There are far
too many media puff pieces written about this family to count. A “Today” show
story even refers to the family — the size of an NBA roster, plus two — as
overachievers.
A
woman the media dubs “Octomom,” who conceived her octuplets after giving birth
to six other children, gets more in-depth press attention than the dangers
associated with fracking.
While
she signs a deal with a British reality TV producer to make a reality
television show, the realities of fracking are pushed to the media fringes,
because money and power are to be gained.
We
can’t even have a reasonable — and much-needed — conversation about the impact
our growing presence on the planet is having now and will have in the future.
The
Religious Right sticks its fingers in its ears and relentlessly rails against
contraception. Congressional leaders are still up in arms over the Obama
administration’s decision to require employer-provided health insurance to
cover contraception. Family planning services and sex education are seen as
socialist scams, and we’d rather arm our teachers and professors than hand out
condoms to high school students and college undergraduates.
But
how do we pull our collective heads out of the tar sands and value the Earth’s
lush green more than the green being manipulated on Wall Street? It won’t be
easy, but we should start by voting with our minds and with our money. Buy
local. Demand better journalism. Attend protests, such as the recent Keystone
XL pipeline protest in Washington, D.C. Make your voice heard on important
issues.
Remember,
it’s not climate change we’re fighting. It’s ourselves.